Symington/Kennedy vs. Nixon/Lodge 1960 Map?

[Col. Roosevelt]

I've read that JFK in 1960 viewed (as did the rest of the Democratic Party) Stuart Symington as the biggest threat to Kennedy. Suppose Symington did get the nomination and picked Kennedy as his running mate, what would the map look like versus Nixon/Lodge?

[Kingpoleon]

327 - 210


I suspect Symington is a lot stronger than Kennedy. If it were up to me, I would say Symington chooses Humphrey and gains Minnesota and Michigan for Massachuseets, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

[johnpressman]

I have also read "1960" as well as just about all of the other books on this historic Presidential Election.

If Symington had been the Dems choice in 1960, I doubt JFK would have taken second place on the ticket.  Other possible Catholic VP choices  would include Mayor Robert Wagner of NYC or Gov. Mike DiSalle of Ohio.  Even if Symington ran with either Johnson or Humphrey, he would have gone down to defeat in 1960.  Think about this:

With all the advantages the Democratic candidate had in 1960: An almost 2 to 1 registration advantage over the GOP, Kennedy's charm and money, his triumph in the TV debates and picking LBJ as his running mate, his intervention in the MLK incident which tipped black voters to his side; he won by only .1% of the popular vote and, by winning a few key states by very small margins, the election. 

Contrary to popular belief, Kennedy's Catholicism worked in his favor in 1960. JFK's religion resulted in increased margins among Catholics in the big cities which tipped many battleground states to him including, PA, IL, WI, MO, MN, MI etc.  The anti-Catholic vote in the South was offset by his choice of LBJ as his running mate.  Any other choice would have resulted in a Nixon win.
 
Nixon would have bested Symington if the televised debates would have been held. Although handsome and distinguished looking, Symington was a bland. low-energy type and an uninspiring speaker, a huge contrast with JFK.  Without LBJ on the ticket, TX votes Republican, without JFK, the above-mentioned states come into play. I cannot see any other combination but JFK-LBJ beating Nixon in 1960.